bail
/ˈbeɪl/BAYL
/ˈbeɪl/BAYL
Meaningto take charge of
Common meaning: money pledged to free someone awaiting trial
- bailto take charge ofSkeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), p. 48 · scan
Journey through time
- Latinbaiulare‘to carry about, take charge of’source
- Old Frenchmeaning shiftsto carry about, take charge of → to keep in custodybailler‘to keep in custody’source
- Englishmeaning shiftsto keep in custody → money pledged to free someone awaiting trialbail‘money pledged to free someone awaiting trial’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin baiulare ‘to take charge of’.
Roots
- baiulare Latin “to take charge of”
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